This page hosts a collection of Reports of particular interest to the Indian American community:
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In August 2008 radical Hindutva groups unleashed an orgy of violence against the Indian Dalit Christians and Adivasis in Kandhamal district of Orissa state in India. There was a surge in violence since the Christmas-eve in 2007 which got considerably aggravated in August 2008, following the murder of the VHP leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati.
According to official figures, over 600 villages were ransacked, 5600 houses were looted and burnt, 54,000 people were left homeless and 38 people murdered. Three women were gang raped, while many others were injured and 295 churches were destroyed. Thousands of people are unable to return, and are still living in temporary tents.
What makes this horrific carnage ironic is that most of the people responsible for it, are walking around free, and the few accused are being acquitted.
Include below is the report of the National People's Tribunal which included several prominent activists and headed by Mr. A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. The eminent jury of the tribunal heard from 43 survivors and released a report on Aug 24, 2010.
Read the full report: NATIONAL PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON KANDHAMAL - JURY’S PRELIMINARY FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
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In May 2010, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governemnt has completed 1 year of its second 5-year term with Dr.Manmohan Singh completing his 6th consecutive year as the Prime Minsiter of India.
How has the UPA focused on socio-economic and regional inclusion, the empowerment of women, the minorities and the weaker sections of Indian society?
A report was released by UPA governemnt on completion of its 1st year in current term titled "UPA Goverment Report to the People 2009-2010"
Read More: UPA Goverment Report to the People 2009-2010
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Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Ranganath Misra Report), Dec 2009
"The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) also known as Ranganath Misra Commission was tabled in the Indian Parliament on Friday, Dec 18, 2009. The Government of India constituted the Ranganath Misra Commission (NCRLM) to recommend practical measures for the welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities."
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Report of Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry, Nov 2009
"After Seventeen years, 399 sittings and examining 100 witnesses the Liberhan Comission has submitted its 1000 page report inquiring the circumstances that lead up to the demolition of the 16th century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya by Hindu extremists on Dec 6th 1992"
Liberhan Commission Report tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament on November 24, 2009
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Asian Center for Human Rights, India Report, May 2009
"Police torture kills 1,184 persons in custody in India in the last eight years"
ACHR Releases India Human Rights Report 2009
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Fact-finding Committee Report on illegal arrests/torture of Muslim youth in Hyderabad, India
Hyderabad Torture and Illegal Arrests Report
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Prime Ministers High Level Committe (PMHLC) Report on the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in India
(Also known as Sachar Committee Report after its Chairman, Justice Rajinder Sachar)
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Reports on Tehelka news weekly under-cover expose of Gujarat pogroms, Nov 2007 :
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ACHR released its annual report on Human Rights in India on June 25, 2009
Asian Center for Human Rights
India Human Rights Report 2009
May 2009
The Annual Report covers human rights violations in 27 States of India during 2008. In its editorial ACHR focuses on the increased human rights violations in the Naxal conflict. ACHR calls for a Parliamentary debate over the security response to the Naxalite movement, review of all the laws/Acts that provide for prior permission of the government to prosecute the government officials/security personnel to ensure that no prior permission shall be required for corruption and human rights violations; placing of the draft Prevention of Torture Bill 2008 after necessary modifications in consultation with the stakeholders for adoption by the parliament; and ratification of the CAT.
View or Download the full ACHR India Report 2009 here (PDF version).
ACHR Press Release: "Police torture kills 1,184 persons in custody in India in the last eight years"
Independent Fact Finding Report on Illegal Arrests and Torture of youth in Hyderabad, post-Mecca Masjid bomb blasts that occoured
A Report by Independent Fact-finding Committee investigating the allegations of Illegal arrests and Torture of Muslim youth by Andhra Pradesh police in the wake of the tiwn Bomb Blasts in Mecca Masjid and Gokul Chat that occoured on August 25, 2007 in Hyderabad, India.
Report Published: Oct 10, 2007
By:
Nirmala Gopala Krishnan
K. Anuradha
Mohammed Afzal
After seventeen years, 399 sittings and examining 100 witnesses the Liberhan Comission has submitted its 1000 page report inquiring into the circumstances that lead up to the demolition of the 16th century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya by Hindu extremists on Dec 6th 1992.
The Liberhan Commission Report was tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament on Nov 24, 2009.
On this page you can read or download the Liberhan Report by Chapters. Also included is the Action Taken Report by the Ministry of Home Affairs, India which is the official response from the Goverment to the report.
Report of Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry
Action Taken Report by the Ministry of Home Affairs, India.
In August 2008 radical Hindutva groups unleashed an orgy of violence against the Indian Dalit Christians and Adivasis in Kandhamal district of Orissa state in India.
Included below is the report of the National People's Tribunal which included several prominent activists and headed by Mr. A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. The eminent jury of the tribunal heard from 43 survivors and released a report on Aug 24, 2010.
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NATIONAL PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON KANDHAMAL
JURY’S PRELIMINARY FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
24 AUGUST 2010
The National People’s Tribunal (NPT) on Kandhamal, held in New Delhi on 22-24 August 2010, was organized by the National Solidarity Forum - a countrywide solidarity platform of concerned social activists, media persons, researchers, legal experts, film makers, artists, writers, scientists and civil society organizations to assist the victims and survivors of the Kandhamal violence 2008 to seek justice, accountability and peace and to restore the victim-survivors’ right to a dignified life.
The jury of the NPT was headed by Justice A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. Joining him as jury members were Harsh Mander (member of National Advisory Council), Mahesh Bhatt (film maker and activist), Miloon Kothari (former UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Housing), P. S. Krishnan (retired Secretary, Government of India), Rabi Das (senior journalist based in Bhubaneswar), Ruth Manorama (women and dalit rights activist), Sukumar Muralidharan (Delhi-based free lance journalist), Syeeda Hameed (member of Planning Commission, Government of India), Vahida Nainar (expert on international law, mass crimes and gender), Vinod Raina (scientist and social activist with a specific focus on right to education), Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat (former Chief of Naval Staff) and Vrinda Grover (advocate, Delhi High Court).
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Read the full report: NATIONAL PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON KANDHAMAL - JURY’S PRELIMINARY FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Read IMC-USA's statements on the issue:
1. Press Statement RELEASED Aug 25, 2010:
Indian American Muslim group calls for speedy justice for Kandhamal victims on the second anniversary of violence
2. Press Statement RELEASED Aug 28, 2008:
IMC-USA expresses alarm at anti-Christian violence in Orissa; demands the State and Central governments to act immediately
3. Press Statement RELEASED Dec 27, 2007:
IMC-USA condemns destruction of churches in Orissa
The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) also known as Ranganath Misra Commission after its chairman Justice Ranganath Misra was constituted in October 2004 by the the Government of India to recommend practical measures for the welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities.
The Prime Ministers High Level Committee, PMHLC (also known as Sachar Committee) constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, studied and identified the socio-economic and educational backwardness of the Muslim community in India and these findings became a topic of national discussion in India.
The Ranganath Misra Commission was entrusted by the Government of India to suggest practical measures for the upliftment of the socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities and to include the modalities of implimentation for the same.
The final report of the Ranganath Misra Commission (NCRLM) was submitted to the government in May 2007 but it was not tabled in the Parliament until it got leaked to the media. Amidst sustained pressure from Members of Parliament the NCRLM Report was finally tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Dec 18, 2009 by Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
The Ranganath Misra Commission (NCRLM) made the following important recommendations:
Atleast 15 percent of seats in all nonminority educational institutions should be earmarked by law for the minorities as with 10 percent for the Muslims (commensurate with their 73 percent share in the total minority population at the national level) and the remaining 5 percent for the other minorities.
15 percent share be earmarked for the minorities – with a break-up of 10 percent for the Muslims in all government schemes like Rural Employment Generation Programme, Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojna, Grameen Rozgar Yojna, etc.
15 percent of posts in all cadres and grades under the Central and State Governments should be earmarked for the minorities - with a break-up of 10 percent for the Muslims.
The Commission thorugh an amendment was entrusted with an additional term of reference with regards to the Scheduled Caste status, and the commission made the following recommendation:
"...we recommend that Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 – which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste net to the Hindus and later opened it to Sikhs and Buddhists, thus still excluding from its purview the Muslims, Christians, Jains and Parsis, etc. – should be wholly deleted by appropriate action so as to completely de-link the Scheduled Caste status from religion and make the Scheduled Castes net fully religion-neutral like that of the Scheduled Tribes."
You can read or download the full report at the link below.
National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) or Ranganath Misra Report.
Prime Minister's High Level Committee (PMHLC) Report on Indian Muslims.
(Also known as "Sachar Committee Report" after its Chairman Justice Rajinder Sachar. )
A Report on
Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India
Prime Minister’s High Level Committee
Cabinet Secretariat
Government of India
November, 2006
You can view or download a copy of the Sachar Committee Report from here.
Tehelka Gujarat Expose Reports:
In the fall of 2007 Tehelka, a premium English weekly conducted an undre-cover operation and with hidden cameras in Gujarat. The operation uncovered first-hand accounts from the men who plotted and executed the 2002 Gujarat genocide in Ahmedabad,Vadodara and Sabarkantha. Mayhem was meticulously planned and carried out by VHP Bajrang Dal cadres across Muslim localities.
In this section, you will find the stories reported by Tehelka's investigative journalists.
Tehelka expose - Complete Story (3 MB)
Tehelka expose - International Media Coverage
Section 1- Editors' comments
Section 2- Conspirators and Rioters
Section 3- The Bomb Makers
Section 4- Role of the Police
Section 5- What they said about Modi
Section 6- Legal Subversion
Section 7- Dance of Hate
Section 8- Godhra: Mob Fury, Not Terror
(All copyrights belong to Tehelka new weekly www.tehelka.com)
In May 2010, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governemnt has completed 1 year of its second 5-year term with Dr.Manmohan Singh completing his 6th consecutive year as the Prime Minsiter of India.
How has the UPA focused on socio-economic and regional inclusion, the empowerment of women, the minorities and the weaker sections of Indian society?
A report was released by UPA government on May 7, 2010 titled "UPA Goverment Report to the People 2009-2010".
Part of the report dealing with Minorities under Sections 3.4 is reproduced here. It is left to the readers to interpret and judge the perfromance of the UPA government.
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Section 3.4 An Inclusive Agenda for the Minorities
3.4.1 Targeting benefits of development to the minorities
Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme It has been ensured that 15% of targets and outlays for schemes included in the Prime Minister’s New 15-Point programme for the Welfare of Minorities and considered amenable to targeting, have been so earmarked.
Three schemes have been added to the programme in 2009-10 viz. (i) National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP); (ii) Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG); and (iii) Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT). 64 projects, at an estimated cost of over Rs. 8,600 crore, have been sanctioned under the Urban Infrastructure & Governance (UIG) component of Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for implementation in 17 towns with a sizable minority population. 101 projects, at an estimated cost of more than Rs. 2500 crore, have been sanctioned in 83 such towns under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) component.
In 2009-10, under the scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), 4457 primary and upper primary schools have been constructed, 3530 primary and upper primary schools have been opened, 20,588 additional class rooms have been constructed, 27 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) have been sanctioned and 7765 teachers sanctioned in blocks and districts having a substantial minority population. 502 public sector bank branches were opened in 2009-10 (upto December 2009) in districts with a substantial minority population.
Over Rs. 96,000 crore of bank credit was provided to the minorities in 2009-10 (upto September 2009). 60 ITIs, located in Minority Concentration Districts, are to be upgraded as part of the Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme.
3.4.2 Improving access to-Education
During 2009-10, 17.29 lakh scholarships were given to children belonging to the minority communities for their pre-matric education. An amount of Rs. 202.94 crore was spent. 48% of the pre-matric scholarships were awarded to girls.
Under the post-matric scholarship scheme, 3.88 lakh scholarships were awarded at a cost of Rs. 148.74 crore. Nearly 55% of those awarded scholarships were girls. 35,982 merit-cum-means scholarships were awarded at a cost of Rs. 97.51 crore, with nearly one third being girl students.
Under the Meritorious Scholarship Scheme of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation, for girl students in classes XI and XII, 15,070 girls were awarded scholarships at a cost of Rs. 18.08 crore.
Under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship, 756 fellowships are shortly to be awarded. 30%will be to women students.
Credit
The National Minority Finance Development Corporation (NMDFC) has disbursed Rs. 197.75 crore for assisting 1,04,594 minority beneficiaries during 2009-10 out of which an amount of Rs. 54.53 crore has been disbursed under the micro-finance scheme to 68,451 beneficiaries.
3.4.3. Waqf development
A bill to amend the Waqf Act, 1995 was introduced in Parliament. It provides for timely completion of surveys of waqf properties, reduction of the scope of alienation of waqf properties, providing penal provisions to prevent encroachment of waqf properties, representation of women in the waqf boards, greater accountability and efficiency in the administration of the waqf properties by the waqf boards, etc.
The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 7th May 2010.
In February 2010, under a new centrally sponsored scheme, grants-in-aid of Rs. 8.06 crore has been disbursed to 11 State Waqf Boards, the Central Waqf Council and the National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) for the computerization of waqf properties.
3.4.4 Multi-sectoral district plans for Minority Concentration Districts
Out of 90 identified MCDs, the district plans of 80 MCDs (15 fully and 65 partly) have been approved at a total estimated cost of Rs. 2343.75 crore.
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You can read or download the full report at the link below.